"When Emily passed, I decided I wanted to take it to the next level," Tarczan said Wednesday.

He purchased a used police car from the Waverly Police Department for $800. The 1999 Ford Crown Victoria was sold at a discount when Tarczan revealed his intentions. Others pitched in as well, including an auto parts store and a body shop in Taylorville and a graphics shop in Decatur.

The end result is a custom vehicle rich with detail. For example, the patrol car's vehicle number is 2002 — the year Emily was born. The beat tag is 911E, as Emily's birthday is Sept. 11. And a purple and green ribbon on the hood of the car proclaims, "Emily Strong."

"People ask me how come I did it. My answer is, 'Why not,'" said Tarczan, a native of Portage Park.

Phil Cline, the executive director of the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation and former police superintendent, will also be there to send the car westbound on 111th Street in Morgan Park. The custom vehicle will arrive at the kick-off of the kids fair, Tarczan said.

"I might be on the other end of the crime scene tape now with the public defender's office, but I still bleed blue," he said.

Tarczan also knows first hand the heartbreak of losing a child. His son, Tony, died suddenly 11 years ago on Dec. 19. He was just four months old.

He has since had three more children — Dominick, 8, Joseph, 6, and Emily, 5. However, he said could feel Tony's spirit working through him as he refurbished the purple-and-green patrol car.

"It's like my son is still with me," he said.

Tarczan vowed to bring the custom car to Chicago whenever it's needed, offering to drive the vehicle to special children's birthday parties, to pick up someone from the hospital or participate in parades.

Though, he is a bit worried about people taking photos of the car as he drives it into town.